I was so happy after our Pediatric Allergy Specialist (known as PAS from here on out) told us to start adding foods to my diet that were on our possible food allergens list. She felt that it was time since the tests showed no life threatening reactions to these allergens. She shared that babies with significant food sensitivities, often take 18-24 months to grow out of their allergies/reactions to foods. At almost a year, it was time to start crossing those allergens off the list. The PAS recommended that we start small and after a few days without a reaction get another food.

The first priority to cross off the food allergens list were tree nuts and peanuts. I love chocolate almond milk and there is a great dairy free version of Nutella that uses tree nuts that I really missed- Justin’s Hazelnut Chocolate Butter Blend!! I’m obviously showing my chocolate addiction here 🙂 Not to mention these were the allergens that led us to the PAS in the first place. I started with a few sips of almond milk, a few days later some of that chocolate almond spread, then worked up to a spoon full of peanut butter a few days after that. And he was clear! No crazy diapers and no worsening of his eczema. Tree nuts and peanuts- check!!

Over the next couple of months we were able to cross off many allergens- Eggs, Chocolate (love these Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels), Coffee (only drinking Decaf), Tea (Bonus to be able to drink Traditional Medicinals Organic Mother’s Milk Tea), Bananas, Strawberries, Raspberries, Orange Juice, and Maple Syrup. Tomatoes took a few tries to get him used to, which the PAS warned us about.

Hold Up

When we got to gluten we had to put on the breaks. It started with a non-gluten free cracker. By that evening his eczema was fire engine red and evident in more than his usual spots. We also had a few unusual diapers for a couple days. To ensure that there were not extenuating circumstances involved, I tried non-gluten free bread and the same thing occurred. It is safe to say that gluten will remain on the allergens list. Oats are also a no-no. There are a few thoughts that oats have a cross sensitivity with gluten, which makes sense for us. When I tried oats, he had the same reaction that he had to gluten. To this point soy is iffy. He initially did not react but subsequently had a few questionable diapers. So I try to avoid soy for the most part.

Side Note if you are pumping and have any little stock built up. Keep in mind that any food allergen reactions may linger based on when your little one is getting the bottles that were pumped after the allergen was consumed.

Dairy is the one food group on the allergens list that I have hesitated to add back for a lot of reasons. I never want to put my son through the bloody diaper phase again. However, it is very unlikely that this would be the reaction today. And there are pretty good dairy free alternatives out there (Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds, Daiya Mac & Cheese Cheddar Deluxe to name a few). I have actually considered remaining dairy free since it has been so long since I’ve had it. Also, given the fact that soy and dairy are allergens with cross sensitivities, and he had a possible reaction to say, I’m just not ready.

Overall, our little man has done really well. I will keep you updated on the dairy, but as of now we are in a great place, pretty much only avoiding dairy, gluten, soy, and oats! This is an exciting place to be for mom and baby!!

I have added some affiliates links for you to check out some of the food alternatives we are using 🙂